Pacers Coach Praises Celtics’ Offensive Firepower After Loss

The Boston Celtics extended their current win streak to four games with an impressive 140-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday. Joe Mazzulla’s team ended the night with five players scoring in double digits, led by Jaylen Brown’s 30-point night.

During his postgame news conference, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle praised the level of offensive talent Boston has available.

“They’re a great shooting team,” Carlisle said. “And, we did a much better job in the first game of making it tough on them. Look, Pritchard went anywhere he wanted to in the first half, particularly in the second quarter….Him, White and Brown they’re all tremendous scorers. The system’s built around them, and they got guys like Hauser, who’s a specialist, who’s a great shooter, and he made a lot of big shots, and we made some mistakes.”

Even without Jayson Tatum in the rotation, as he continues to rehab from a torn Achilles, the Celtics have sustained one of the best offenses in the NBA. They’re currently ranked second in the NBA, averaging 121.4 points per 100 possessions, slightly behind the Denver Nuggets, who average 123.9.

Boston sits third in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the New York Knicks in second and two games ahead of the Toronto Raptors in fourth. Following the win over the Pacers, Boston will now head out west.

Mazzulla’s team faces a four-game road trip, with games against the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers. All of those teams hold sub-.500 records.

There’s a good chance the Celtics could extend their win streak to eight games, assuming they execute while on the road. After coming into the season with questions over their ability to compete, Boston is within touching distance of the first and second seeds in the East.

A large part of the Celtics’ success is down to the offensive talent on the roster, and the system Mazzulla has implemented to get the best out of the players at his disposal.